


My Monster Under the Vents

by Andromeda_Horse



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Consent, Dark Past, F/F, F/M, Friends to Enemies, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbians in Space, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Nonbinary Character, Other, Swearing, Trans Character, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26678107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda_Horse/pseuds/Andromeda_Horse
Summary: "I am sorry." Red said yet again, and lifted the gun, pointing its mouth in their direction."I hope you regret this... Red." Blue said and the gun rang, engulfing their entire world in darkness.As Blue tries to achieve their dreams through The Skeld, friends become enemies, and enemies end up becoming... something more.
Relationships: Blue & Red (Among Us), Crewmate/Impostor (Among Us)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	1. Prologue

Hah, hah, hah...." Blue panted, as they ran towards the upper engine. Their heart palpitated in their chest with every single step as they remembered the blood bath which had taken place in front of them in the Electrical Room. They had been just passing by to fix the lights when they had noticed a certain someone standing over a body. A body which should had been reported, but wasn't reported. The other person had looked at them, their suit drenched with the corpse's blood. At first they couldn't believe their own eyes. So they just ran. They knew they should had reported the body. They knew they should had called an emergency meeting and informed the other people of what had happened. But all they could do, was run. Run far away from the one who wished to kill them. 

They had already lost several people on The Skeld to the impostors. They had barely any contact with the ground control crew, owing to their comms which refused to cooperate with them. Any little contact they used to have with the ground control crew had revealed that no one among the crew had a motive. Even their past records were clean. The Martian Police were about to conduct an in-depth investigation, but so far, no one had seemed suspicious. Yet, people had died.

Blue was scared. Blue hadn't imagined that they would had to face something like this. Of course they were afraid, but they had been ready to face the impostors. What they hadn't expected was their trust to be broken into a million pieces. They hadn't expected for that person to turn out to be the murderer. They hadn't been ready to face the consequences of their stupidity, which had cost lives. That's why, as usual, they ran away from their problems and the truth. They ran with all the strength they could gather. They ran even though they knew that there was no escape. The hallway was silent except for the regular thumping of their feet against the metal floor of the ship. They could hear the sound of fuel engines rattling in Lower Engine room, in front of them. Blue reached the corner of the hallway and were about to take a turn to run upwards towards the entrance, when they saw a familiar face pop up from the lower engine. Their feet screeched to a stop as they stared at bright red liquid which covered the pane of glass of the impostor's suit. The expression on the other person's face was indistinguishable, owing to that stain. 

Blue stared, and walked back a few steps, their back pressing against the spaceship's wall. Fear clawed at them, but it was veiled by a more intense emotion: a feeling of sheer anger.

"It's you." Blue snarled, gritting their teeth. Never did their gaze move away from the traitor they saw in front of them. They wanted to slap themself for believing this person, for caring for this person. But they didn't say a thing. They just stared at the other person, their lips twisted in a sneer.

"Yes, it's me." His voice sounded hoarse. Blue hated his voice. They would had preferred if his voice had been cold like the sky they saw from the windows of the spaceship. They wanted his voice to be devoid of any emotion. As a murderer, he should has sounded ruthless. They didn't want his voice to sound so... vulnerable.

"I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. And here I thought I finally found someone whom I trusted. But as it turns out, you are just another backstabbing asshole." Blue spat, venting out their anger. They knew they should be more afraid and run for their life. They knew it was futile to hold a conversation with this person. But they were outnumbered. They knew they had no weapons to defend themselves, unlike the gun which dangled from the other person's hand. He could shoot them at any moment.

"I am sorry." That's all he said. He hung his head low. He didn't say anything else. 

"Not that I expected you to explain." They pressed the button on the right side of their head, which made the glass pane in front of their eyes slide upwards. The smell of blood hit them, and they scrunched their nose, trying to ignore it. They levelled their gaze on him again. They didn't want to die without seeing their murderer's face as he killed them, even though the color of his suit made it evident as to who he was.

"Come on now. What are you waiting for? Shoot me and kill me already. I have nowhere to run." There was a long stretch of silence where they didn't say anything. The lower engine rattled, sighing at occasion, as if it was overworked and tired. Finally, he lifted his hand and pressed the button on his space suit. The glass pane lifted, revealing his exhausted face, his eyebrows knit together in a pained expression. It was the first time Blue had seen so much emotion in his face. His eyes held their own gaze, and it threw them off balance. They found it difficult to look away from his piercing, yet desperate coffee-brown eyes.

"I am sorry." He said yet again, and lifted the gun, pointing its mouth in their direction. A sudden wave of calmness washed over Blue's mind. They felt at peace, even though they faced their death. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but he bit down his words. Blue closed their eyes, their mind devoid of any thoughts. 

"I hope you regret this... Red." They said. There was no reply from him. All that they heard was the harsh sound of the gun firing and their whole world ended up collapsing into darkness.


	2. Blue (1)

"The Martian Council of Interplanetary Relations will release the final list of the candidates appointed for their most ambitious project ever, J-3710, on their server today. Project J-3710 aims to retrieve samples of Novisite and establish the first human base on Jupiter. If the mission succeeds, humanity will finally be able to overcome the repercussions caused by our biggest enemy: Radiation. Stay tuned to hear Doctor-"

The television screen continued to play in background as the crew of J-3710 dined in the cafeteria of their training halls. A dust storm was brewing outside, halting the training for a short time. It had been brewing for past two weeks, slowing down transportation. A few members of the crew were watching the television screen as they chomped down on some greens, since there was no source of entertainment in the cafeteria except the news. Others were busy looking over reports pertaining to the mission. Blue was sitting in a chair which was the furthermost from the screen. It wasn't that they hated people. They had been lagging behind compared to others during the orientation, and they blamed their part-time job for that. Even though they had quit the job a week ago after realizing how it was holding them back, they had still ended up missing some of their earlier training.

"Damn this shit, why does this reactor model look different than the ones I see usually?" They muttered, irritated. "I don't remember seeing anything like this... Gosh, I am so fucked." They pulled the strands of their head, squinting. That's when someone coughed beside them, interrupting them. Blue turned their head to find Cyan sitting beside them. Hir gaze was lowered and trained upon Blue's HoloScreen. Blue couldn't help but smile. Cyan was one of the friends they had made among the crew. While most of the crew was aloof or plain weird, Cyan had been quite welcoming towards them and had cooperated with them through those grueling two weeks.

"Hey, Cyan! How are you? The training is certainly very harsh right? Did you finish eating your food already? I wish they made less bland food. And oh! That reminds me, aren't they going to introduce us to last two members of our crew? I wonder who they are since they didn't join the training... I guess they must be quite skilled right? I am excited to meet them. What do you think, Cyan?" Cyan just looked at them and blinked, being unable to answer them for a few seconds.

"I am... I am excited too. I actually forgot the first question. Can you repeat again?" Ze looked down again, playing with hir hands. Ze usually did that when ze was nervous. 

"I am sorry for attacking you with that barrage of words, haha. I asked you how you were and whether you were done eating." Cyan nodded, understanding. "Y-Yes, I did. I am doing good, though...you don't seem to be well." Cyan pointed to the HoloScreen which showed the reactor model. 

"You notice things well, huh." Blue said, laughing. "I didn't focus a lot during orientation and now I have no idea how this reactor model actually works. I went through every reactor model used in Martian and Lunarian ships yesterday, but to no avail. I am discouraged." They continued to poke at their HoloScreen, wishing they could understand the things they read by magic.

"I can explain, if you want." Cyan offered, and Blue's ears perked up. "Really?" They asked and Cyan nodded back again, in affirmative. "Oh god, you are a literal savior. Thank you so much, Cyan!" Blue almost wished they could hug Cyan, but since they hadn't know Cyan for a long time, they restrained. "I will make this up to you for sure! How about-" But before Blue could complete their sentence, the bell ringed in cafeteria, signifying the end of the break. Almost everyone had filed out of the room before the bell, and Cyan and Blue were the only ones left. 

"Oh god, we are going to be late. Come on, Cyan, let's go." They urged their friend, who followed them as they raced across corridors towards the meeting hall where the briefing usually took place. They reached their destination after bumping into a few people and almost stumbling down on the floor for a few times, but to Blue's relief, Commander Grey hadn't arrived. Both of them settled in the front row, near Yellow, who seemed to be trying her best to avoid Lime's teasing comments. Blue could almost feel pity for her. Suddenly, the doors slid open and Commander Grey walked in. He was a lanky, tall man, whose strong presence was enough to make people obey him. However, unlike usual times, he wasn't alone. Two individuals followed him. The first one was a person with a medium stature, who was barely noticeable in his black suit, even though his features revealed a quite handsome face. The one behind him was taller than Commander Grey himself, and seemed disinterested. His wavy, long hair was tied in a messy ponytail and he had donned a red suit. Blue couldn't help but gasp loudly, making a few heads turn. Blue couldn't care more about the reactions people gave them though. They hadn't expected to see Red here, as a member of the Skeld's crew.

"Good afternoon, fellow crew-mates. As I had informed yesterday, we will be releasing the official list of the J-3720 crew to the public today. Furthermore, I realized, _now_ is the perfect time to introduce you to our new members of the team. Both of them needed special training to catch up with a few areas we found them lacking in. But that doesn't make them less exceptional. This gentleman here is Black, he uses he/him pronouns. He will be acting as the main pilot of the Skeld. Treat him well, alright?" Black gave a salute, and followed by a light blow. Everyone saluted him back. "And the other gentleman here is Red, who uses he/him pronouns as well. Red is jack-of-all-trades, so feel free to give all sorts of job to him. But don't be too harsh on him though, it's his first job." The Commander chuckled, inviting a few laughs from the other crew members as well. "You can take your seats, gentlemen." Grey pointed towards the front row. Red settled himself in a chair beside Blue. It seemed that he could barely sit on the chair owing to his size. Meanwhile, Black sat a few rows behind. Grey continued his speech and started to explain the details of maneuvering frigate ships through the Asteroid belt. Blue tried to catch the attention of Red, but somehow, Red didn't respond, even when Commander Grey asked Blue for the fifth time to pay attention to what he said. After finishing the meeting and facing the wrath of the Commander, Blue ran through the hallway towards Red, who was standing in a corner by himself, checking something on his HoloScreen. He gave a slight glance after he heard the sound of footsteps, but after seeing that it was just plain old Blue, he turned his attention back to the screen, acting busy. Red's indifference didn't deter Blue, or rather, Blue barely noticed that the other party was being cold to them. They grinned and extended their hand forward. "I almost couldn't believe the fact that it was you, Red! My own junior back in University! We used to share our Astrogeology classes remember? I- Hey wait, where are you going?" Blue withdrew their hand when they realized Red hadn't shaken it. Red looked over his shoulder.

"I am going back to my bunks." He told, in a flat tone. He then turned back and started walk away from them. Blue ran in his direction, catching up with him. If there was any distinct quality they had, it was their stubbornness. They tilted their head while walking, so they could look at Red's face. "But I was talking to you! Don't tell me you have forgotten me?" 

"Yes, I have." Red replied, and Blue flinched because of the edge in his voice. They knew he had recognized them. Yet why was Red acting like this? Before they could react or answer, Red had disappeared in the distance, leaving them in the hallways alone.

Feeling dejected, Blue decided to attend to their other tasks instead. They realized that today was the last day to move into their official dorms. They checked whether the dust storm had calmed down, and upon confirming it had, they rushed back home. Blue pressed their thumb against the finger print sensor and scanned their face. The glass doors to their house slid open and Blue walked inside. The house was silent, except for the gentle whirring sound the generator made. Blue's footsteps sounded much louder because of the silence, even though their steps were light.

"Father?" They called out. But no one responded. "Well, he must be busy as usual. Or he is avoiding me after yesterday's fight." They unzipped their spacesuit and walked towards the small capsule which was their room. Their father had asked them to choose one of the larger rooms in the house, since they were a child of a bureaucrat who had certain status to keep. But Blue couldn't care less. They didn't want a large empty room which would be devoid of any people, with only them as its sole inhabitant. It made the silence feel more suffocating. Blue threw open their wardrobe and chose a few suits and casual clothes, packing them in a small handbag. A small snow astronaut plushie sitting inside the wardrobe caught their interest, which their father had gifted them when they were young. They held it in their hands, pressing it and feeling its softness against their skin. They smiled and placed it on the top of their bundle of clothes in the bag and zipped it close. They took a last look at their room, as they were leaving. It seemed as if no one had lived in the room. "I guess nobody will even notice me gone." Blue thought. They left a curt message to their Father anyway, and after hoisting the bag on their shoulder, they walked out of their house, their heart heavy with mixed feelings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this late at night, so forgive any typos! I will edit this later if I find any mistakes. Updates will be irregular, since I am bad at keeping a schedule! 
> 
> Also, Cyan uses neopronouns which are Ze/Hir! Thanks for reading! ^_^


	3. Blue (2)

Blue didn't get a message from anyone after they reached their bunks. They had checked their call and message logs several times, but as they had expected, their father hadn't bothered to leave them a message. They sighed and shut down the logs, since their roommates for the week, Cyan and White, were calling them to join them for the training. On their way, they did see Red pass by them. But as usual, he didn't say anything to them and refused to acknowledge their existence. "I will need to have a talk with him some day." They decided. The entire week flew by, with everyone busy preparing for their roles on the ship, and looking over previous mission reports. And before Blue knew it, the day of the mission arrived. A lot of people had gathered in the Spectator's Dome to view the launch live. They could see the public which had gathered through their HoloScreen. 

"I don't get the point of people gathering at Spectator's Dome, since there aren't any windows in the dome anyway." Blue explained, zipping up their spacesuit and making final checks. Though their tone appeared nonchalant, they were feeling thrilled. They couldn't wait to walk into The Skeld and dive into the silent, black space. 

"Everyone is just excited, Blue. I am feeling on edge too, to be honest! It will be my first OuterBelt mission! Everything feels different once you venture out of the Asteroid Belt. Oh! Did you see Cyan, by the way? Ze gets stressed easily, and I wanted to check on hir." 

"That's true. Ze said ze will go to washroom for one last time. Ze will be back soon. Why don't you go ahead since you are done getting ready? I need to check upon a few things, so I will wait back for Cyan. We will join you during the reporting time." Blue wanted to check their logs one last time before they left their bunk room. 

"Okay. See you then. Don't make Commander G angry!" She warned, before leaving the room. Blue checked their bunks for one last time and stepped out of their bunks, checking their logs again. "No messages or calls." They sighed, their heart dropping. "I should just stop hoping." They laughed for no reason, trying to make uplift their own mood. However, a sudden sound of footsteps made them almost jump out of their skin. They shut down their HoloScreen in hurry. They looked up to see Red passing by, giving them a side glance. Once they caught his eyes, he averted his gaze. But before he could pass by and ignore their existence again, they grabbed his arm. Their small hand could barely wrap around his large biceps. He gazed at their hand which stopped them for few seconds, before looking up at them, his lips pressed together in displeasure. 

"What do you want, _Blue?_ He enunciated their name. However, it didn't deter Blue. They were done with his bullshit. They tightened their grip on his arm.

"You finally recognized me, huh? Now since I have your attention, I will tell you what I want. I want you to stop ignoring me when we obviously know each other. For the love of Old Earth, we used to be fucking friends back in University. So why are you acting as if I don't exist at all? If I had offended you in some way, just tell me." Blue took a breath, after saying everything they had in their mind. However, the other person didn't hesitate to answer. 

"No, you haven't offended me. Things have changed and I don't wish to further my relationship with you." He gripped Blue's hand which was holding his suit and removed it. "Now if you excuse me, I have things to do. I believe you do too." He said, pointing to their HoloScreen controls on their arm. He was about to walk away, but Blue had had it. 

"Oh, but you can't have things your way, Red. We are supposed to be crew-mates, so it's expected for us to be cordial with each other. Also, you can't run away from me, especially since you refuse to give me any clear reasons regarding this rude behavior of yours. I am going to treat you in the same way as I always did, Red." They answered, crossing their arms. Red have them a vacant look and looked away.

"Do what you want. I don't care." He said, before walking away, his large back retreating in distance. They couldn't stop him this time, and they just stared at his form with a dazed look. Blue heard hurrying footsteps shortly after the incident. It was Cyan, who kept apologizing the entire time they walked towards the boarding area for being late. 

After walking down a long hallway, they found Commander Grey addressing the crew. He noticed them arrive and his expression showed that he wasn't pleased. 

"Never breaking your habit of being late even on the day of mission, eh, Cyan and Blue?" But Blue was too captivated by The Skeld to pay any attention to Grey's snarky comment.

The Skeld was exactly as they had imagined. It was long and sleek, with a narrow cockpit. Four large propellants were attached to its back, and an escalator connected the ship to the ground, to enable the crew to enter the ship.

"That's all for today." Grey's voice boomed, snapping them out of their reverie. "Good luck for your mission. I hope you will successfully secure Novisite from Jupiter." He saluted them, and they all saluted him back. A bell rang in distance, signifying the start of the launch window. Everyone started to walk in a line towards the Skeld, not saying a word to each other. Grey retreated, and stepped out of the launch area, disappearing in darkness.

After everyone had stepped in the main airlock, the escalator withdrew. The doors of The Skeld shut closed, and the only source of light in the room was a the white light. Everyone settled down in their seats once they were done checking their vital signs.

"Mission J-3710 launch begins in 3 minutes. Crew is requested to strap themselves to their seats before the launch." They followed the commands and the countdown began. Blue took a look at all of their crewmates. They weren't able to make out their faces. 

"3, 2, 1..." The voice said and all Blue could hear was the sound of propellants burning and pushing the ship away from the Martian land. The ship shook for a few minutes as it lifted itself, and finally, it became stable. 

"Welcome to The Skeld. Crew members are requested to enter the spaceship through the main airlock's entrance in five minutes. The countdown begins." A monitor displayed the countdown time and the doors of the airlock whirred open, revealing The Skeld's interior. They walked inside in a queue, and once the countdown was done, the airlock shut close.

No one spoke. The friendly atmosphere disappeared. Everyone seperated in different directions, with Lime and Black retreating to the Navigation, Pink and Orange heading towards the Weapons room, and others walking towards the admin area. Suddenly, their comms beeped off, surprising everyone. Blue opened their HoloScreen, and saw the Ground Control Crew calling them. Everyone picked up the call.

"Hello everyone. Commander Grey here. I know it hasn't been even an hour since you all left the surface, but I have just received an important news. Listen carefully." Blue's heart started to beat faster for no reason. What was Commander speaking about? What could be so urgent as to make the Ground Control call them so early?

"Apparently, we have got some information that some people are trying to sabotage the mission. I just went through the reports on the check up conducted on the ship's vitals a few minutes ago. It seems someone had messed up with the ship's reactor. The Skeld will malfunction in a few days if you don't fix it. I know you can get over this, crewmates. Fret not." Blue felt their throat go dry. "Why would anyone try to sabotage this mission? It was going to benefit everyone after all." Blue thought. 

"The bad news doesn't end here, though. What actually worries all of us is that it seems that some 'impostors' have made it into the crew, to ruin the mission for once and for all. The might also harm you all. We haven't managed to find any clues as to who they are, but theyrrrrrrrrr canzzzzzrrrrrr..." 

"Hello, Sir? We can't hear your voice. It's glitching." White informed the Ground Control.

"Youghhhhhggg rrrrrrrrrr zzzzzzzfind rrrrrhhhhhthem.... Beep." Everyone's holoscreens disappeared. Blue tried to turn them on, but to no avail. Their connection with Ground Control had been lost.

"We have lost communication with Ground Control." Brown declared, echoing everyone's thoughts. "I think it will take us quite a few days to establish it again, if we do manage to do it." He seemed pretty calm, despite the fact that there were traitors among them.

"The comms within the ship are working, t-to be honest." Cyan explained. "We can communicate with each other within the ship." 

"Let's get going then. It's futile to keep stressing over the impostors. I am heading over to the reactor." Red said and walked away, alone. Following Red's words, everyone filed away silently, as if they just hadn't be told that there were impostor's on the ship who wanted to harm them.

"We are fucked." Blue thought. "We need to find the impostors as soon as we can." Feeling determined, they followed the suite of their fellow crewmates, and walked away from the Admin Area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! I couldn't describe the ship in detail because I am bad at technical stuff, so I am sorry. ಥ‿ಥ But I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Sorry for irregular updates, possible typos and plotholes!


	4. Black (1)

Black tapped on the navigation radar and checked if there were any stray asteroids flying in the ship's direction. "So far, everything looks well. Hmm." He said out loud, thinking. However, he seemed to have forgotten the existence of his co-pilot who jumped upon his words as soon as he uttered them.

"Dude, what the fuck are you even talking about?! Did you just say 'everything looks well'?! How does having fucking hijackers on our ship right when we are stuck in space look well? I must say, I am going to go to the cafeteria, press that damn emergency meeting button, and order everyone to make preparations to land the ship." Lime yelled in the cockpit, making Black almost go deaf.

"That won't work. They have messed up with our reactor. We can't move forward or land unless we have a working reactor. And even if we somehow managed to use the reactor, we don't know what sort of things they might have planted inside it. If we end up triggering something inside that-"

"Fine. I get it. I know you like to show off how much of a smart ass you are." Lime cut him off and smirked, and relaxed into his chair. Black stared at him for a few minutes and sighed. "I wish I had some other person as my co-pilot. This dude is a pain in ass. He is not even trying to check the vitals of the ship after what Commander said. Why is he even on this ship?" Black wondered. "No use wondering about a chap as useless as him. I better keep my eye on the radar." Black thought and turned his attention back to the navigation. However, his co-pilot was in desperate need for some entertainment. So after relaxing for some moments into his chair, he poked at Black's suit.

"Hey, what do you think we should do to catch those traitors? They even managed to sneak into the ship past official authorities. Do you think we can even catch them?" His voice was shriller than usual. Black realized that his crewmate was terrified. Earlier, Lime had tried to act brave by teasing him. But his farce was wearing away, in a slow and steady manner. He tried to keep his voice leveled. "If I act weak too, this guy will lose it." He thought. He turned in the direction of Lime, who had his eyes trained at the entrance of the Navigation room, as if he was scared that someone will enter the room and kill them both. Black straightened his back, hoping his posture will exude confidence and reassure his panicking crewmate in some way.

"Look at me, Lime." Lime looked at him, his expression seemed unreadable. "I don't know whether we can catch them or not. I can't see the future and predict stuff. All we can do is, trust ourselves and be wary. Also, it's better to keep a track on our fellow crewmates' movements and trust no one else. On that note, I hope you realize that I don't trust you, Lime. You shouldn't trust me either." Black confessed, and turned away again, making sure to check the radar again. Lime didn't say anything for a few seconds. Black was relieved to have some quiet in the cockpit, and was about to lean back in his chair and doze off when he heard a loud laugh near him, almost making him fall of his seat from surprise. He whirled his head in the direction of the voice, and found Lime chuckling to himself. Black couldn't help but feel concerned. "He's losing it." He concluded, and was about to speak, when Lime raised a palm, probably telling him to not speak. Black decided to respect his wishes and didn’t speak a word as Lime caught his breath. He coughed a few times before he spoke again.

“You said you didn’t trust me, yet you give me those useful tips. I just find it ironic and funny. Phew, that did lighten up the mood.” He gave a small chuckle again and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe whatever he was thinking. All Black could do was gape at him. “How was that so funny? Is his sense of humor really this bad or is he pretending? He has lost it for sure.” He was at a loss of words. Finally, after a few moments, he gained composure. “All I gave you was some basic tips. Those couldn’t be even called helpful.” He added. But Lime just waved his words off and hummed to himself, trying to work.

"At least, he’s working now.” Black thought and leaned against his seat. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a shut eye now. If Lime is a imposter, others will get alerted for sure. We are the only ones who are stuck in the Navigation now, and everyone knows about that.” He turned towards Lime. “Hey, I am going to take a nap. Wake me up if there is any emergency or anything suspicious. Got it?” Lime nodded. “Understood, shy smartass. Leave it to me. I am one of the best crew members around here.” Black ignored his comments and shut his eyes. He ended up falling asleep in a few minutes. However, all of a sudden, a loud siren woke him up, making his heart palpitate. Lime was gripping his suit, shaking him hard. Black was sure that if he hadn’t woke up earlier, Lime would had ended up ripping his suit apart.

“What happened? What are those sirens?” Black rubbed his bleary eyes to clear his vision. Lime’s eyebrows were scrunched up in worry and panic. “It’s the O2 room! The HoloScreen said someone messed up with the O2 controls, and the oxygen is getting flushed out! We will be out of oxygen in a minute if we don’t hurry!” Black stood up, and grabbed Lime’s hand, pulling him out of Navigation.

“Fool! Why did you wait to wake me up?! You should had headed straight to O2 and fixed the problem! It’s right in front of Navigation room!” He explained, shouting and running at the same time. They could see the O2 room right in front of them.

“I didn’t want to go alone! What if I get killed?” Lime shouted back, panting. Black couldn't help but roll his eyes. "If no one fixed the O2 controls, we would all end up dying, idiot." Black thought. He kept checking his HoloScreen to see how much time they had and gritted his teeth. He hoped they could move to the desired location in time. They finally reached the O2 room, and Black pushed Lime inside the room.

“Fix the error quick! I will head to the Admin Room and fix the controls from there.” Lime didn’t refuse his orders this time and headed inside. Black raced towards the Admin Room. “Shit, why is this hallway so long? It’s taking so long to reach a god forsaken room?!” He checked his HoloScreen again. However, this time, the screen didn’t display the countdown to total Oxygen Depletion in the ship. “The counter is gone. Does that mean someone fixed the controls at Admin? The ones in O2 room are still broken though. What in Old Earth is Lime doing?" Black cursed and started to race back to the O2 room. There were barely 20 seconds left, and with every passing second, Black could feel himself become a little more breathless. He took short, quick breaths and ran anyway, his feet thumping loud against the ship's floor. As he reached the corner, he saw Orange, who was about to enter the room. He ran towards Orange. Orangeupon noticed his presence and looked in his direction. He paused for a few moments. Black caught up with him and were about to enter the room when they saw the siren go silent. Before they could react in any other way, their Holoscreens started to beep again. But Black didn't need to answer the HoloScreen to know why it was beeping.

In front of him, beside the long glass containers which contained plants pumping out oxygen, stood Brown, his feet standing in a puddle. On the other end of the room, stood Yellow with her HoloScreen on. It was probably her who tried to call them all. But it wasn't these crewmates who caught Black's attention. All he could see was the numb body of his co-pilot, lying down on the floor in a pool of blood, making his neon green suit appear almost sickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I avoid describing sci-fi stuff in detail, but I am horrible at science, so excuse me, please. ಥ‿ಥ I hope you all enjoy this, I might be not updating well because of exams, oof.


	5. Blue (3)

_Meanwhile, in the Lower Engine Room, an hour before Lime's murder._

"Are you going to the reactor?" Blue asked Red, who was walking in front of him. Cyan trailed behind Blue. Ze was still shocked by the Commander's announcement, and didn't want to be left alone. Blue had found Cyan in the Med Bay, with Pink who was trying to help hir with hir panic attack.

"You should rest." Blue had advised Cyan, but Cyan shook hir head, refusing to do so. It had ended up in hir following them around. Blue didn't mind it though. They trusted Cyan, and found it almost impossible to consider the idea of hir being an imposter.

Upon realizing that Red still hadn't answered them, Red raised their voice. "Mister Red, I asked you a question! Are you heading to the reactor?" Blue asked again. Red stopped dead in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder at Blue. "Stop following me." He said, in a flat tone.

"I am not following you. Don't be so self-absorbed. I am just heading towards the reactor. We need to fix them as soon as possible, after all." Blue explained, placing their hands on their hips to show defiance. Red stared at them with his soulless eyes and sighed, giving up. He started to walk again and Blue and Cyan followed him. They passed by the Upper Engine and they found White hunched over the panels, with her HoloScreen open. Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, she looked up in their direction and smiled.

"Oh, it's you all. I was just running an analysis on the reactor and finding out what's wrong. They haven't planted any dangerous device in the reactor which is a good sign but well... unlocking the manifolds is going to take some time." She beeped her HoloScreen off and wiped her forehead even though she wasn't sweating.

"How much time will it require to get it fixed?" Red asked, crossing his arms.

"About 120 hours." She answered. But even though it was a relatively short time, White didn't look happy. "But I scanned the Upper Engine on my way and the statistics didn't match the output data I had predicted. Something is wrong in there too." She sounded tired.

"Anything can happen in five days. With even the engines getting messed up, it's not a good sign. Regular spaceships will need a week to even reach us." Blue thought. They turned towards Cyan, who was busy looking at the models of nuclear reactors similar to the Skeld's reactor on their HoloScreen.

"Cyan, how about you and White work together on the reactor? You both know about this model a lot more than any of the crew. Red and me will take care of the Engines. We are much better at handling actual machines than reactors, after all." Blue had expected Red to retort. But the taller guy didn't utter a word of complaint, and just stood behind them with a blank expression.

"That sounds...good." Cyan replied, talking for the first time ever after the Commander's call. Ze went over to White's side and fixed hir gaze on the control panels of the reactor since ze had no where else to look. 

"Okay then. We will leave the engines to you. See you, Blue." White said, smiling, and returned to her work. Blue felt their heart lighten after seeing that smile. They turned back to find Red already walking away towards the Upper Engine room, not bothering to check whether they were coming or not. His footsteps sounded much heavier though, as if he was stomping. "So annoying." Blue thought, but they suppressed their annoyance and followed him. He opened the engine's output data on the screen beside the engine, and started to read through it. Blue walked towards him and stood beside him, their shoulder brushing against his arm. He flinched and stepped aside.

"Did you choose me to do this job on purpose?" Red asked, opening his HoloScreen. It was blank. He was finding an excuse to not look at them. Blue felt their heart sting, and they diverted their attention to the output.

"I don't know what purpose you are hinting at. I have no ulterior motives. I just trust you with this stuff because your major was Engineering back in University." 

Red didn't reply to their statement. Instead, he just scrolled through his HoloScreen with a vacant look. The silence almost suffocated Blue and they cleared their throat. 

"Why...did you drop out of the University?" This question had troubled their mind for days after Red has suddenly disappeared from their campus 3 years ago. Blue had tried their best to hunt him down, and had even used their father's connections to find him. But they hadn't managed to find him then. They met him finally thanks to J-3710 mission. 

"Why do you care?" His gaze pierced them, as if he was challenging them. All of a sudden, the atmosphere around them felt intense.

"Because I was feeling lonely in there without you." They answered, in a honest manner. Red's gaze faltered for a moment, his eyebrows almost touched his hairline, and his lips parted slightly to form an 'O.' He was about to say something but before he could reply, emergency sirens started to ring in the whole ship.

"What's happening?" They shouted, feeling disoriented by the loud noise.

"O2 controls are down. Oxygen is getting flushed at a rapid rate. We have 40 seconds before the oxygen gets totally flushed." Red informed. 

"Fuck. Let's get moving then!" Blue and Red started to run. However, they knew that they were on the other end of the ship and they were going to barely make it on time. They both continued to run with all their might anyway. After a few seconds, the sirens stopped ringing. Blue and Red stopped in their tracks near the cafeteria. 

"They fixed it, I guess." Blue said, letting out a breath of relief. But just as they were about to turn and return to the Upper Engine, their Holoscreens started to beep fast. They turned on their HoloScreen to find Yellow calling them. Both of them accepted her public call.

"Hello, crew mates. I am in O2 Room currently. We have found Lime's body. Let's meet in Cafeteria as soon as possible." She said and turned off the call. Blue was shell shocked. "Someone...died?" They whispered to themself and collapsed into the nearest chair. Red didn't try to speak to them, but he stood beside them instead. They felt grateful that he was not trying to speak to them. A few minutes later, every crew member had gathered near the centre table. The atmosphere had become heavy. Cyan was gripping the edge of the table tightly, as if ze wanted to break the table itself.

No one spoke for a few moments. The silence was finally broken by a Orange, who had a scratchy voice and was the eldest crew member on Skeld.

"Black and me saw Lime's body inside the room. Brown and Yellow were inside the room itself. So the question lies, in what order did you both enter the room? " His tone was icy, and it made everyone feel at edge.

"It seems you are hurling accusations at them right off the bat. Black and you can be suspects too." Pink answered. She seemed unfazed by Orange's presence. Orange scoffed in reply.

"It's because Black and me have an alibi. Black saw me come out from Weapons."

"But Black could be your co-conspirator too." Pink pointed out. Blue could hear Orange grit his teeth with frustration.

"It's okay, Pink. Black and Orange are innocent." Yellow piped in. Everyone's attention focused on her and suddenly, everyone went quiet.

"I entered the room after I came running out from the Shields room. I saw Brown hunched over Lime's body." She explained, in a nonchalant manner. Orange leaned forward, getting interested.

"Did you see any weapon on them?" Orange interrogated. Yellow shook her head. "No. I saw nothing. I didn't see the exact moment of murder though. So I am not sure what exactly might have happened."

"Which means we can't rule Brown out as a suspect. They could have had disposed off the weapon." Black spoke for the first time. Brown, who had been quiet and patient for the whole meeting, slammed their fist against the table, venting out their frustration.

"What in fucking Old Earth are you talking about? I found the body and I was about to report it, when Yellow waltzed into the room! Also, I had to fix the controls first! Did you all wanted to die from oxygen depletion?!" They shouted.

"They have a point." Blue said, supporting Brown's claim. We haven't found the murder weapon. They can be a suspect, but we can't chuck them out of the ship based on just suspicion and witnesses." Everyone stared at them for a few minutes and nodded in agreement. Even Orange agreed, albeit in a begrudging manner.

"That's true. They are not wrong, either." Everyone whispered among themselves. 

"However," Orange's voice rose before they all could vote their opinion, "whoever has killed him, is going to regret this. You all have no idea who was killed, do you?" 

But Blue knew who Lime was. They had met him during official parties of high ranking government officials. He had been a weird man even back then. They had been truly surprised when they had seen him being appointed as a member of this mission, though he had failed to recognize them.

"I know who he was." Blue spoke out, yet again. Orange looked at him and sneered. "Of course, you do. Come on, tell them too."

"Lime was...the only son of the President of Lunar Colony. Not many people knew his face because he liked to stay away from public eye." White and Cyan gasped, while the eyes of a few crew members widened with surprise.

"And if the President finds out that his precious son has been killed on a mission controlled mainly by the Martian government..." White said her thoughts out loud, her voice trembling.

"Everyone involved in this mission is going to get fucked." Orange laughed, his laugh devoid of any mirth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This was a tough chapter to write, haha. Do you all want a list of pronouns for all the members though? I think it might be getting a bit confusing for you all. What do you all think? Comment below! Thanks for reading! :D


	6. Impostor's Entry (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Imposter's entries will be the only ones who will have a first person point of view, so I am sorry if it's confusing! Also, due to exams, the update is short and late, sorry. :(

_**[Time: 20 hours after The Skeld's launch.]**_

_**(Entry begins.)** _

_It has been ages since I have written an entry. It won't be a long entry. It's going to be a short, informal one. The purpose of this entry is to leave behind a record of our actions for the Organization, in case we get caught. If we fail, we want our comrades from future to make use of these entries and learn from our mistakes, so you all won't repeat them again. I assure the reader that this entry isn't fabricated. You can compare the time stamps from my HoloScreen with the timestamps of this entry. Excuse me, if it sounds like a diary, since it does contain some of my personal thoughts. Being left alone amongst these privileged Martians and Lunarians who dare to enjoy the fruits of our labor after wiping out almost all of our kind makes me angry and leaves my feelings unsettled. These people don't deserve the title of "Martians." But let's not focus on my preferences now, and move on to more pressing matters._

_So far, we have managed to wipe out Lime. He was a high-priority target after all. Even if we end up failing, I doubt that his death won't cause any tensions among the two colonies. The Lunarian president adored his son. He would make sure to sniff out whoever did this and make them pay for whatever they did. But I trust the Organization. I trust them to not get themselves caught by him. We had stayed hidden for so many years. Even the toughest hound hadn't managed to sniff us out. But I won't be too confident. Even at this moment, I am thinking of how to make sure we appear 'clean' to the authorities. I don't think we will ever need to face the authorities though. With how our plans are proceeding, The Skeld will be far away from Mars and they won't be able to catch up with us with the spaceships they possess. Our mission will be a success._

_Turning out attention to the ship's current vitals, the reactor and the engine are still malfunctioning, which means we are an empty box of metal floating in air without any sense of direction. The Martian ships will take around two weeks to reach us, since they don't possess a nuclear reactor. However, our deadline is much shorter than two weeks. According to some of the ship's engineers, they will manage to finish fixing the reactor and the engine in a week. This has caused us to shift our priority to those targets. According to the documents I had received several days ago, one of the engineers is my target. I plan to take it slow, and earn the target's trust first. The Organization won't like this approach of mine, but I have my reasons to do so._

_The targets have turned restless after Lime's death. They are jarred by the suddenness of the loss of a comrade and have grown even more cautious for the past few days. It has been difficult to find them alone at different places, making our job difficult. Hence, we all are waiting for the tense atmosphere to calm down. While there are some crewmates who have been panicking, some others have become dreadfully calm. A certain crewmate may end up being detrimental to our mission, so I am keeping an eye on him for now. It seems he has some personal motives behind finding the the impostors, and he also seemed to have shared some sort of relationship with Lime. I plan to inform the other imposters about this guy as soon as possible._

__

_Moving on to our team's status, the Lunarian imposter has been functioning well, since Lime was the Lunarian's original target. This person doesn't cause me a reason to worry. However, I am not sure about our Martian imposter, since his movements have been slow and haven't contributed anything towards our plans. I know I shouldn't be saying this, but somehow, his actions are making me doubt his so-called 'praiseworthy' skills when it comes to killing someone. Martians of his kind always have set me on edge owing to their biological nature, but I must assure you that I am not solely speaking on the basis of my bias. I have tried my best to cast away my biases, and watch the team's movements. This is the reason why it puzzles me to see him to not see him take out one of our high-priority targets, named Blue. There have been many chances in the past 20 hours for our Martian to take them out, but instead, he has hesitated. On that note, Blue seems to have been interacting quite a lot with him, despite the fact that they had never met each other before the current mission and hence, have no reason to speak in first place. Somehow, I have a feeling that both of these people have a past history._

_If what I said above is indeed the truth, this fact doesn't fare well for us. But since I have known the Martian for some time and he's experienced as well, I shall give him a benefit of my doubt. He's young, so it's understandable to make a few mistakes. Or maybe, it's me who's making a mistake in judging him and he simply wants to gain the target's trust before finishing them off. Besides, none is us here are without personal motives, aren't we? I confess that I also have my own goals which I plan to achieve._

_So where does this leave me? Currently, my only long term goal is to make sure The Skeld and its original crew never makes it to Jupiter. Furthermore, we need to make sure the Martian spaceships never reach us. My short term goals are to make sure the reactor and the engine don't get fixed, by killing one of the engineers. It's going to be tough for me, for reasons I can't reveal. I have to make sure my target is taken off before anything unexpected happens. Another goal of mine is to find more about our Martian imposter's past history with the bureaucrat's kid. If it seems that anyone among us is acting against the Organization's plans, we will make sure to dispose them off before they say anything, even though they are our own comrade._

__

_I will be signing off now, because I can hear the someone's footsteps approaching this room. I will be burying these entry and any other future entries among a protected folder with some unrelated research documents. I hope our mission succeeds, and our people finally get freed from the suffering the settlers had inflicted on them._

_**(Entry ends.)** _


	7. Blue (4)

"I wonder whether I should go with coffee or strawberry flavored milk...hmm... it's a tough choice." Blue murmured to themself, deep in thought. They had been standing in front of the vending machine for the past 10 minutes, trying to choose a drink. They bent forward to take a closer look at the drinks, which made the snow plushie on top of their head almost fall. They grabbed it before it could fall, and balanced it on the top of their head again. Suddenly, a sound of someone clearing their throat beside them snapped them out of their thoughts. They turned their head to find Red standing beside them, glancing at them from the corner of his eye. They narrowed their eyes and turned their attention back to the vending machine.

"What do you want?" Blue asked them, in a flat tone. Two days had passed since Lime's death and they hadn't got decent sleep since the launch. They kept falling asleep while they were trying to do their tasks, and fatigue was catching up with them. Amidst all this stress and work, they had no time and energy to keep up with Red's indifference and rudeness. Red continued to stare at the wall in front of him.

"You are taking a long time to choose a drink." He pointed out. 

"Yes, I know. So what? Do you want to take a drink as well? You can go ahead then. I am going to need some time to choose, so I can get a drink after you." They didn't bother to look at him either.

"No...not really. I...just wanted to say...that you should keep that plushie in your hand. It may topple off." Blue let out a huff of breath. They didn't remove the plushie on the top of their head.

"Did you just come here to give me orders? I am well aware that the plushie will topple off. I just kept it there because I was bored." Blue finally decided to go with the strawberry milk, even though they knew it was going to make them even more drowsy. However, they needed something sweet to calm their nerves. They were about to press the button when Red interrupted them by opening his mouth again.

"I...think you should go with the coffee. It will-" But before he could say anything, Blue felt anger surge inside them and turned to face him, which caused the plushie on top of their head fell. Red acted immediately on his instincts and caught the plushie before it could fall on the ground. He handed it back to them without a word. Somehow, Blue found their anger dissipate a little, and all they could do is let out a tired sigh.

"Do you always have nothing to say to me except rude statements or orders? If yes, then I am tired." They turned back to the vending machine, and pressed the button for strawberry milk. The machine whirred and they waited, clutching their plushie tight in their hand.

"That's...not the case. I can't explain why, but...but, I think I do want to continue talking with you. In a less rude manner. We are..." He took some time to formulate the words he wanted to say. "We are crewmates after all." He nodded to himself, as if he was trying to make himself even more sure about the words he had said. Blue smiled to themself and took a sip of the strawberry milk.

"I must say...I am _glad_ to hear that." They said, punching his shoulder lightly. Red froze when they did that, though Blue didn't notice. "So, should we head back to the Engine?" 

A few moments later, they found themselves in the Lower Engine, looking over the engine output for one last time on their HoloScreen. After they were done checking, Blue sat down and leaned back against the wall, sitting beside Red who was going through some report on the HoloScreen himself. Upon realizing they had sat down beside him, he beeped his screen off.

"I am so relieved we managed to finish going through most of the output data today. It was stressful as hell." They sighed and took out their plushie, playing with it. "Look here! Doesn't this plushie of mine look like White? It even has same uniform as us." Red nodded, agreeing with them. "I always sleep with this plushie. I am also great at balancing it on my head! White and me were talking about accessories yesterday. Apparently, she likes to make them and she has this dream of becoming a jewellery designer! I personally think that's very cool of her. Don't you think so, Red?" They grinned at him. He gave yet another nod, though it was more vigorous than the previous one.

"I actually have a few accessories she had given to me. She made them on the ship during her break. Do you want to see? I kept them beside the Lower Engine in the small bag over there." They pointed to a brown bag, which was placed a little distance away from the shuddering engine. 

"Okay." Red said, without hesitation. Blue beamed with happiness and rushed over to the engine and grabbed their bag. They opened it and took out a red mini crewmate plushie.

"Look! Doesn't it look like my snow plushie? She wanted to gift me another one, so she made this one for me. And yes, look at this!" They took out a knife hat, and placed it on their head. It made it seem as if someone had sliced their head with a knife.

"It seems... inappropriate in this situation." Red pointed out and Blue laughed. "Ahahaha, true." They realized that the imposters still haven't been caught and Lime was dead and took off the knife hat. "I guess it's better not wear something like this huh?" They placed the knife hat in their suitcase and didn't say a word. The silence felt suffocating. Somehow, Blue felt a strong urge to go back home. They felt afraid and exhausted. They had just wanted to fulfil their dream of reaching out to the stars. "The sky is filled with its own dangers huh?" They thought, staring at the knife hat which looked almost too real. 

"Do you want to show me some more accessories?" Red asked, all of a sudden, stopping their train of thoughts. They looked at him and found his eyebrows scrunched up slightly, betraying a hint of concern. Somehow, even that little expression of Red's managed to cheer them up. They gave him a smile and started to rummage through their suitcase. After a few minutes, they finally removed a flower hat from the bag.

"The flowers on this hat are fake, but they seem so real right?" Blue asked him, caressing the hat. Red didn't answer again and nodded instead. "Anyway, I think you should wear this!" Red's eyes widened with surprised and he gaped at them, revealing his sharp, pointy teeth.

"Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. 

"Yes! You! I think it will look great on you!" They examined the flower hat from all angles and then suddenly, their face fell. "Oh, I didn't consider this, but...do you hate wearing flowers? It's okay, I-"

"No. I don't. I am just... surprised." He scratched his head, messing up his long, wavy hair even more. 

"That's great then! Here, let me place it on top of your head." Blue leaned forward and tried to place the hat on top of Red's head, but they realized he was too tall and it was difficult for them to place the hat perfectly on his head in a sitting position. They almost ended up straddling him. "I must stand up, I guess." They thought but before they could stand up, Red grabbed their wrist. His grip was firm, though he had averted his eyes in another direction.

"I...will do it myself. You don't need to stand up." He took the flower hat from their hands and placed it on the top of his head. It felt as if someone had placed a flower stalk on Red's ear.

"It looks amazing! I love it!" Blue clapped their hands with glee. Red couldn't help but get infected by their happiness, and gave a slight smile. 

"Wow. I know this is off topic, but your teeth are still pointy as ever, huh, Red?" Red went very quiet when they mentioned this topic. However, Blue continued to talk anyway. "I haven't seen many people file their teeth these days. I guess old habits die hard." Red didn't answer them, but they could hardly notice his lack of answer as they suppressed a yawn. "I feel sleepy. The strawberry milkshake did its work, I think. I am going to take a short nap. Wake me up in about...15 minutes?"

"Okay." Red said and they closed their eyes. It didn't take them too long to fall into a dreamless sleep. They would had slept longer but a sudden noise woke them up. They were bleary-eyed, but upon opening their eyes, they didn't see anyone else around. They heard the sound yet again and were about to move, but they realized their shoulder felt heavy. They found Red fast asleep, his head resting on their shoulder. He had a slight frown even as he slept. For the first time, they could really see his face from up close.

"Is he having a nightmare?" They wondered, as his frown deepened. His wavy, brown hair tickled their shoulder and he was still wearing the flower hat. His thin lips were pressed together in a thinner line. "He's not bad looking, I guess. I mean, even back in University, he was sort of popular. What made him leave?" They thought. However, they were snapped out of their reverie by the sound again. Their ears perked up. "That sound came from the vent. Is something wrong with it?" They were about to move when all of the sudden, the lights went out, casting them all in pitch black darkness. The sound of lights going out made Red wake up.

"The lights went out? When did that happen?" He asked.

"They went out just now. I am going to go and take a look." Blue said and stood up. They were about to leave, but Red grabbed their wrist. His grip was firm yet gentle. They couldn't see his face.

"Don't go alone. I will come along with you." He offered. 

"Okay. It's better if it's two of us, I guess." They waited for Red to stand up and they both headed towards the Electrical Room. On their way, they heard the same sound they had heard earlier in Lower Engine yet again. 

"Did you hear that? It seemed as if it came from under the floor." Blue tried to squint at the floor in the darkness to find out the source of the noise. But they could barely see anything; not even their own feet.

"I didn't hear anything. It must be someone else running towards the Electrical. Let's go. Turn on your HoloScreen, since it will cast more light." He advised them and turned on his own HoloScreen.

"He seems calmer and more talkative right now for some reason. Maybe, it's comfortable for him to talk in dark huh?" They wondered and ran along to the Electrical with Red. They found White standing in front of the metal box with light switches, and they rushed over to her side. Upon hearing their footsteps, she turned around. She looked as if she had been under tremendous stress.

"Red and Blue...Thank God, you all arrived. My HoloScreen isn't working for some reason and I can't see...help me out please?" Blue nodded and stepped forward to turn on all the switches. Once they had done so, the lights came back, making their surroundings visible. White wiped the sweat on her forehead.

"Thank you, people. I was having a hard time probing around in darkness." She explained. 

"It's okay. Where is Cyan though? Isn't ze around you most of the times?" Blue asked her, as they walked out of the Electrical.

"Oh, actually, I haven't seen them much, haha..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I gotta go and find Pink. We need to work on the problem with the reactor." She said and ran out of the Electrical. Red and Blue looked at each other in confusion. "But wasn't she supposed to work on the reactor with Cyan? Is something wrong?" They wondered.

"She seemed to be in a hurry. Let's get out of here." Red declared and walked ahead of them. Blue followed him. All of a sudden, they heard the same sound they had heard a few minutes before yet again. 

"Hey Red?" Red turned towards them with a puzzled look on his face. "Can you walk ahead of me? I have something to do in the Electrical." They tried to make their tone as nonchalant as possible. Red stared at them for a few seconds and nodded. He walked away from them, leaving them alone. Once they were sure that he was out of their sights, they rushed back to the Electrical, and headed towards the vent in the upper left corner. They sat down and peeked inside the vents. It was empty and dark.

"I am sure I heard something. But there is no one here." They checked whether the vent was open. "It's shut closed." Once they were done examining, they sat up.

"Maybe I am imagining things. But where was that sound coming from then?" They wondered. Blue couldn't help but feel unsettled. It had been two days since they had last found a body. The imposters were being too quiet. 

Yet somehow, Blue knew that this quiet atmosphere was just the beginning of a storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer update! It's messy, but I hope you all enjoy it. :")


	8. Blue (5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this late at night so, sorry for typos! Also, the chapters may seem repetitive, but I hope you all enjoy anyway. :")

Before Blue knew it, another day had passed by in The Skeld. It wasn't as if 25 hours was a long time, but they could barely notice the time pass by as they worked hard to fix the problems in Upper Engine. They wished there were more people who could help them with this particular problem. However, everyone was busy with their own jobs. Red had to keep an eye on the O2 filters, Yellow and Black were mostly busy maneuvering the ship in navigation, while Pink usually stuck to Medbay, analyzing samples and looking after everyone's scans. They hadn't seen Cyan or Brown for some days. Or to be precise, they hadn't seen Cyan for the past couple of days. They had tried to ask White where ze was, but she refused to talk about hir. It seemed she was avoiding talking about hir at all costs, for reasons unknown. But Blue weren't some person who could be deterred easily. If they hadn't been _this_ stubborn, their father would had made them into an administrative official already and might had even planned their marriage with some kid of a high-ranking official. It was by their sheer determination that they had managed to face all the challenges people had thrown in their face. That sole determination made them walk to the reactor five days after Lime's death, to find White working hard on the reactor, even though some of their crewmates had already went to Medbay to take a quick nap on the four beds in that room. She usually noticed the presence of other person by the sound of their footsteps, but this time, she didn't look up at all. Her eyes were half-closed, as if she was about to fall asleep any moment.

"Hey, White!" They said, and she ended up flinching, looking around in a wild manner as she tried to find the source of the voice. Nowadays, everyone seemed to be on edge since they had heard of the imposters. Upon seeing that it was just Blue, she gave them a faint smile. "Hey, Blue. How are you doing?" She suppressed a yawn and rubbed her eyes. Eyebags had started to form under her eyes, though she didn't look too fatigued. Blue were glad to see that. 

"I am sorry for disturbing you with my loud voice. I guess I should really lower the volume button of my voice, huh?" They said, leaning against the reactor's entrance frame. White waved off their suggestion and shook her head. "No, not really. I think your voice is okay enough. I was just too engrossed in the work." She let out a sigh and played with the lock of her fiery red hair. "It's just taking way too long. I had thought I could get this reactor working within 120 hours, but well... I didn't realize the problem could be so deep-rooted. The more I work on it, the more problems I find which are even more complex. It's a blessing to have access to the models of other ships' reactors on The Skeld's database though. I can't even imagine what would had happened if we had no points of reference at all...it would had taken even longer." Getting frustrated, she started to pull at the lock of hair she had been playing with earlier. "At this rate, it will take us two weeks to get it working again. I am terrified of that fact. I know I am one of the crew members who was assigned with looking after the ship's reactor, but... I didn't know there would come a day when I will have to fix a reactor which is messed up to...this extent." She casted a guilty look at Blue, who was listening to her in a patient manner. She chewed on her bottom lip. "I am sorry. I...ended up ranting." She apologized. 

"I am glad you actually managed to take it out of your system. You never say what you want to say in such an open way since you were always busy taking care of Cyan and others. So, I am happy you were willing to talk to me and lift the weight of your shoulders. I don't mind you ranting it out at all, White." They walked inside the reactor and sat in the upper corner, as their legs had started to pain from standing too much. The floor was hard and cold, but the ones who had created the spaceship had not bothered to make any seats for the crew to sit. 

"They didn't really put much thought into making this ship, did they?" They thought, dusting the floor. They turned their attention back to White, who had sat down as well, her head leaning against the reactor's control panel. "You can't speed up the process of fixing the reactor, White. It will take some time. So, I think you should stop worrying about getting it fixed as soon as you can and...focus on the efficiency instead?"" They said, offering her a suggestion. White looked confused, and raised her head.

"Efficiency? What do you mean by that?" They coughed twice, clearing up their voice. "Here we go. We are heading into a difficult territory." They realized.

"I noticed you have been working alone on the reactor for the past few days. Aren't you and Cyan the ones who are assigned to working with the reactor? If ze helps you, I think your workload will get reduced and you can focus on the errors in a more efficient manner." However, as they were explaining this point to White, she looked even more crestfallen and turned her gaze towards her lap, her expression indistinguishable. After some seconds, she sighed and spoke.

"I...I actually fought with Cyan some days ago, just before the lights had gone out." She said, with a sigh. The reactor thrummed back in response. "We were working on the reactor as usual, a few days ago. Cyan had been spending even more hours than me to fix it. It seemed as if they were...possessed. The other day, I was returning to this room after I had napped at Medbay...and, I saw hir right then. Ze was trembling and gripping the edge of the control panel so tightly that hir fingers had turned white. I rushed towards hir, worried. I saw hir take heavy breaths and gasp in a loud manner. I wasn't..." Blue could see that she looked as if she was on verge of tears. "I thought ze was dying at first. But then I realized...ze was actually having a panic attack. I tried to help hir but ze kept refusing my help. I remained insistent like a fucking idiot and ze ended up snapping. I saw hir cry, Blue. I just...had never seen hir like that. Ze ended up feeling even more hurt and I decided to back away. It has been awkward between us since then. I-I...I can't even imagine approaching hir for help." She went quiet and stared at the entrance of the reactor room.

"You know what? Cyan...ze likes to hide they are facing any problems." Blue explained, picking at their suit. "Ze especially likes to hide this kind of stuff from us, and I think...ze was just embarrassed to see them being so vulnerable when everyone else is coping fairly well in this current circumstances. That's what I think, anyway. We don't know what the actual reason might be, do we? It will be better if you just talk it out with hir." Blue advised, sitting up straight. 

"But I am scared." White's voice croaked as she spoke. "What if ze doesn't want to talk to me? What if it gets too awkward?" She bit her lower lip, feeling worried. Blue shook their head. "No, ze won't. You both have one of the strongest bonds I have seen on this ship among the crew members. You should just take the action and not think about the consequences, in my opinion." White stared at them for a few seconds and nodded to herself. She wiped a few stray tears which managed to escape from her eyes and roll down across her cheeks.

"You...are right. I should really do it, huh? Damn, this feels so childish now. You seem like a mature adult for once, Blue." She had a faint smile on her face, a look which Blue hadn't seen on her face for quite some days.

"Hey! That's rude, you know? I am mature all the times!" Blue scolded her, faking their annoyance. White just laughed in response. After having a light laugh, she relaxed her body against the control panel yet again. "I miss Cyan, you know? I mean, it's not as if I was lonely since I was with Pink all the time and it actually felt safe to be near her...but Cyan is someone I really respect and like as well." She confessed, scratching her head. 

"You hang out with Pink?!" Blue asked, feeling surprised. Pink was one of the most stoic members of their crew. With her deep purple hair cut into a buzzcut, paired with an equally piercing gaze and commanding voice, she gave off a strong presence which rivalled even Commander Grey. "Yes, I do. She's quite nice. We talk a lot about our lives back on the colonies. Though to be frank, it's mostly her who talks." Blue wondered how Pink and White managed to have conversations based on their social backgrounds. From what they knew, Pink was a Martian like them, but unlike them, she came from a Martian family of lower class, who worked on the planet's ice caps to thaw the ice and supply the water to the colony. Most of the Martian families like hers lived in ghettos. Meanwhile, White was a Lunarian from a middle-class family, who had no connection with lower class Martians, who couldn't afford to travel to Moon. "I guess...she just attracts Martians, huh?" They realized that most of the people who talked with White on a regular basis, that is, Pink, Cyan and themself included- were all Martians.

"Well, it's not like we have much to talk about anyway. Pink reminiscences about her childhood, but I have nothing to talk about mine." Blue wanted to ask her why she couldn't talk about her childhood but they knew that was a sensitive topic which a stranger like themself couldn't broach. A comfortable silence stretched between them. After a few moments, they stood up and dusted their spacesuit. "I have to go now. I need to fuel the engines." They explained. "Okay." She said and stood up as well, waving at them. "See you later, Blue. I am going to start working on the reactor again." 

"Don't push yourself too hard though!" They said over their shoulder as they left, walking towards the storage to grab the container of fuel. But just as they were about to pass the Electrical room, the lights went off yet again. "Oh for fuck's sake, the lights are out again." They cursed. "I guess I must deal with it as soon as I can since I am the one who's nearest to this room.." They rushed towards the metal box of switches towards the Electrical room, and started to turn on the lights. They turned on the last switch, and breathed a sigh of relief. However, all of a sudden, a voice behind them startled them.

"Pink. And Blue. You both fixed the lights?" It was a familiar voice. They turned around to see Pink standing a little distance away from them, while Red and White stood near the entrance. They hadn't noticed anyone's presence a few moments ago. Red's lips were pressed in a thin line, as if he was angry. He didn't look pleased. "White, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at the reactor?" Blue asked her, trying their best to ignore Red's displeased look. "Well, I saw Red running towards the Electrical Room, and I was scared to stay alone, so I tagged along with him. I am sorry." Her voice lowered with embarrassment. 

"It's okay, White. You aren't at fault. It isn't really safe to be alone on this ship, nowadays." Pink interrupted their conversation, crossing her arms. They might have imagined it, but it seemed Pink was defending White's actions for reasons unknown. Blue was about to agree with her words when Red strode towards them and grabbed their wrist. He was glaring at the floor with a frightening intensity. Blue were puzzled by his behavior. They were about to ask him what was going on when he started to pull them away from the lights control box, marching out of the room. White and Pink didn't try to stop him, but they kept staring, feeling shocked. "What the fuck is happening, Red?" Blue cursed in a low voice which could be only heard by him. "Just come with me." He answered and kept dragging them to a destination only he was aware of. Blue almost stumbled a couple of times and their wrist, which was grabbed by him, hurt and felt sweaty. Finally, as they reached the Upper Engine, Blue managed to wrench out their hand from Red's iron grip and glared at him. He looked confused, as if he was the one who had gotten dragged instead of them.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Red? You better tell me what is going on. I almost ended up stumbling a few times. What the hell is going on?" Red averted his gaze yet again, tapping his foot in a rhythmic motion against the floor. "I...just wanted to get you out of that room. " He said, giving a statement which didn't offer them any explanation. It made Blue feel annoyed and they rubbed their wrist. "What in Old Earth do you mean you wanted me out of there? You can't just drag me wherever you please without my consent or without telling me a proper reason for doing so." Red didn't answer for some minutes, but they could see his lips get thinned into a tight line yet again. He was angry, and Blue couldn't comprehend as to why he was angry. It seemed way too sudden

"You...should just listen to me and trust me. I can't explain everything." Blue gaped at him and threw their hands. "Why should I listen to you without any reason? We literally started to talk just a couple of days ago. I don't understand why you are being so vague about nearly everything! Just tell me what is wrong!" They felt exasperation well inside them. Red's foot tapped even faster now, and he clenched his fists, as if he was trying to keep his emotions at bay. "You are making things difficult. Nothing's wrong. I just want you to listen to me." Blue didn't answer for some minutes. They rubbed the bridge of their nose, giving out a sharp exhale of breath.

"You know what? With the way you are acting, I end up thinking you might be one of those goddamn traitors." Red didn't answer them back, going quiet. "I am too tired of this, let's just-" But Blue get to finish their sentence. Their HoloScreens started to beep with a familiar, yet chilling tone. Blue and Red looked at each other for a brief moment. Blue looked away quickly, and even though a feeling of dread plagued their heart, they opened their HoloScreen. It was exactly what they had feared.

Yet another crewmate of theirs, had died. And it was someone whose name shook their very core.


	9. Black (2)

_Few hours before the dead crewmate is reported._

Black decided that he did _not like_ Yellow. 

It wasn't because Yellow had wronged him in some way and he had decided to dislike her because he held a grudge. In fact, she had never never wronged him in any way. She talked in a courteous manner with him, often referring him by honorifics since he was supposed to be senior in rank than her. She hadn't been overbearing like Lime either. Lime had constantly made it a point to dismiss anything which Black had to say, an attitude which didn't surprise him. Black was an Old Earth Lunarian, the last migrants who landed on Lunar colony before Earth became totally inhabitable. Black's people had belonged to lower class back on Earth, and hadn't possessed enough funds to escape Earth early, compared to their Martian counterparts. Their only refuge had been Lunar Colony, though the original Lunarians, like Lime, hadn't been fond of this prospect. "Maybe she is a fellow Old Earth Lunarian. It's not my business to ask anyway." He thought, and sipped some bitter coffee from his tetra pack. But somehow, as he regarded his merry crewmate checking the maps on one of the screens on control panel, he had a feeling that something was quite not right with her. He had no particular reason to think she was odd. He just had a gut feeling. He was the eldest sibling in a household of 10 people, so he had a habit of trying to gauge things before taking any action as he had to shoulder some responsibility. "Maybe, I should keep an eye on her." He tried to take another sip, but he realized that tetra pack had become empty. He sighed and kept it away, under the control panel. When he sat straight again, he saw Yellow smiling at him, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"You stare a lot at me, huh?" Yellow said, smirking at him, as she crossed her arms against her chest and leaned back against her seat. "Something caught your interest, Captain?" Black resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. This was another thing about his co-pilot which continued to bother him. While Lime had mostly shook him off and had been disinterested in him- a sentiment which Black himself had shared- it was the opposite case for Yellow. She was too interested in him, almost suffocating him. Every remark and statement she directed towards him was flirtatious. He started to scan the radar instead. "Nothing caught my eye. I was just making sure you don't mess up anything. Also, I am not a 'Captain.' I am just the pilot of the ship. I have told you this fact a thousand times, at least." Yellow chuckled at his words, as if he had cracked some kind of funny joke. "Pilot sounds too boring. Captain has a certain...flair to it. Also, I won't mess anything up at all, Captain. I will make sure to impress you." She gave him a wink, a gesture which he promptly ignored. Some minutes passed by, in silence, and Black realized they both had nothing to do. They weren't anywhere near any asteroids yet, and without a functional reactor, maneuvering the ship was difficult. All they could do was just stare at the space in front of them in boredom. Black wanted to take a nap since he had been staying vigilant for the past few days after Lime's death, in case someone tried to attack him. However, it seemed as if his co-pilot wasn't ready to let him nap. She was smiling by herself when she spoke.

"Hey Captain. You are actually pretty predictable, you know?" Her voice sounded bored. "She's trying to rile me up." Black realized, not paying any attention in particular to her. He leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes. "And why do you think so?" He could hear the other party shift in her seat. Black's heart rate sped up a little. Black almost thought that she might leap up from her seat and kill him. However, the sound ceased soon. It seemed as if she was just trying to face him. He cracked open his eyes, and saw that it was indeed true. Her gaze on him was intense this time, yet there still remained a hint of playfulness in them. "You are actually suspecting me, aren't you, Captain?" He didn't reply and looked ahead into the pitch black sky.

"Think whatever you want to. I don't care. Just do your job properly." His tone was nonchalant. It was the best answer he could give to her. He gave a quick glance in her direction to see whether her expression had changed. It hadn't. She looked the same as she had before she had asked the question. "Nothing bothers her at all." He thought, chills running down his spine. He was feeling even more sure now. Something about Yellow's atmosphere wasn't quite right. However, just as he was lost in thought, she spoke again. "You aren't just beauty with no brains huh? You are always keeping an eye on everyone and you also dodge problematic questions quite well." She rested her arm against the edge of the control panel, her eyes twinkling. "If you find such habits of mine bothersome, you can leave. Also, I am not keeping an eye on anyone. Just wanted to make that clear." He pointed out. She shrugged. " Whatever you say, Captain. Also, I don't find it bothersome at all. I think... that's even sexier, Captain. I can't help but get even more interested." Black wanted to bash his head against the ship's walls. "Why do I always end up with annoying people?" He thought. He swerved his chair in her direction and glared at her.

"Listen up, Yellow. We are on a mission. A mission which will help many lives if it succeeds. So I hope you understand the gravity of the situation we are in, considering we have imposters on board. Please keep any kind of romance out of this and focus on your job." He pointed towards one of the screens on the control panel. "Even if we don't have asteroids floating around, I can see a lot of space debris floating around in this area. How about you try to keep a watch on that?" Yellow gave a dramatic sigh and got up from her seat instead. She was clearly not in a mood to work. "I think I actually need a drink, Captain. My throat is becoming dry from talking a lot with you. Not that I am complaining." She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Excuse me, please." She walked out of the navigation room, disappearing in distance. He shook his head with disappointment. He wished he had followed her. He wanted to make sure she wasn't going to do any kind of shady things. Just as he was lost in his train of thoughts, he heard someone knock the ship's wall. Black looked up to see Brown carrying a tray in his hand. "Food for you, Black." They said, smiling and walked towards him, pushing the tray in Black's direction.

"Thank you. There's just one tray though? You didn't bring one for Yellow?" He asked, feeling a bit confused. Brown blinked for a second, trying to comprehend his question. "Oh. I thought I had forgotten to bring a tray for Yellow. But then I realized that I met her on the way. She took her tray from me and went towards the Weapons room." 

"How could they manage to forget something which happened just minutes ago? Was it alright for the officials to even hire people like this for a job that carries so much importance?" He wondered, shoving a spoonful of beans in his mouth, chewing on them slowly. "Did you eat though?" Black realized he had almost forgot his manners, and he felt weird when he saw that the other person was watching him eat. Brown nodded. "Yes, I did. I realized that both of you might have not eaten for some time, so I decided to bring the trays here." They sat on Yellow's seat and swirled the chair around. 

"You didn't need to go through so much trouble though. We could had come to cafeteria ourselves. Also, we don't need to stay for too long in this room since there's no threat of asteroids yet." Brown crossed their arms against their chest and leaned back in the chair with a blank expression. "Well, it's not like I came here to just bring you food. I just wanted to have talk with some other people here. And...you seemed to be a good choice." Black shrugged his shoulders, finishing his beans. "Well, I am not someone who is good at small talk though. Go talk with someone like Orange or Cyan. They both aren't really working on anything at the moment." Brown's blank expression didn't fade away, and they stared at the control panel with a vacant gaze. "Are they an idiot? They did show a lot of emotions when they were accused though." However, just when Black was about to repeat what he had said again, they answered. 

"Orange is too intense for me. He's either hanging around in Medbay or checking the cameras in Security. Cyan is okay...but ze isn't around." They started to slide their fingers against the radar's screen. Black was confused by their words.

"What do you mean by 'not around'? Wasn't ze hanging around with you for the past few days?" Black didn't like where this conversation was going. "I don't know. But... it's not that I mind. I know ze is an anxious person. So ze probably needs some space. Also, it's difficult for me to handle hir anxiety and I usually end up worsening it, so I am staying away for a while." They swirled around in their chair, in an absent-minded manner. Black wanted to ask them more questions, but they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps walking in their direction and stopping just at the entrance of the Navigation room. It was Yellow, and somehow, her expression wasn't pleased at all.

"Someone is sitting on my chair, it seems." Her voice was devoid of any emotion. Brown turned around to face Yellow. Even though their face had shown no emotions a few minutes ago, Black noticed their eyebrows scrunch up, betraying a hint of annoyance. "It seems they both haven't forgotten the incident during the meeting after Lime's death." Yellow had suggested in an indirect manner that Brown could be an imposter in that meeting. Since then, nearly every crewmate kept their distance from them out of caution. Black knew he should start keeping some distance too. 

"I guess I must go, Black. Take care." They said, standing up and walking out of the room. When they passed by Yellow, Black was pretty sure that he saw Brown glare at Yellow. She ignored their glare. Once they were gone, she walked inside. She didn't speak for a while. Once she was sure that they were gone for real, she finally decided to speak. "That person... isn't quite right. They don't seem to be fond of me just for speaking out about what I saw that day. They also seem so aloof about everything. What do you think?" She said, flopping her body against the chair and sighing. Black gave her no answer and continued with his work. A few seconds later, he felt Yellow poke his arm. "Why won't you answer me? It's not polite to ignore your crewmate, Captain. I am asking you something." Black started to feel a headache coming. "I need some space from these people. I should probably head to Medbay and get a shut-eye." He thought, as Yellow continued to talk to him anyway. Black got up and checked his suit.

"I am heading to the Medbay to get some sleep. Keep an eye on the Navigation for a few hours for me." He said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He expected her to throw some kind of flirtatious joke at him as a reply yet again, but she didn't. "Alright." She returned to her work. Black waited for a few seconds. "That's all? I see." He checked his suit again and walked out.

"She's a strange person for sure. She intrudes in my personal space, but at the same time, she doesn't cross the boundaries. I can't figure her out." Black thought, as he headed towards the Medbay. He had thought that he was good at reading people. But Yellow was confusing. It was as if she was the one who was reading and observing him, not the other way around. He wondered whether other people felt the same way around her. 

However, he had already reached the Medbay at this point, and suddenly, he started to feel his body grow heavy. The fatigue was catching up on him. The sight of beds lined up in front of him made him even more sleepier. He was about to collapse on one of the beds when he saw Orange staring at him, holding a book in his hand. Black resisted the urge to whistle with surprise. It had been ages since he had last seen a book.

"If you want to advise me that I should use a HoloScreen instead of an actual book, please keep that advice to yourself." Orange snapped. Black realized that he wasn't in a good mood. He wanted to punch a pillow. Why did everyone around him refused to give him a break? "I wasn't going to give you any sort of advice anyway. I am too tired to do that." He sat down on a bed and rested his back against the pillows which were propped up against the bedframe. Both of them didn't speak to one another. The silence and the gentle whirring of the spaceship's engines and reactor almost managed to lull Black into sleep, but the peaceful atmosphere was disturbed since Orange started to speak again.

"Black. I want to say something to you, as a warning." He had expected Orange to apologise for his rude behavior earlier, but clearly, he wasn't someone who bothered himself with any kind of manners. He ended up cracking his eyes open anyway. His vision was bleary. He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Once he could see clearly, he saw Orange staring down at his hands with a frightening intensity. Black was sure he could bore a hole through his fingers if he stared so hard at them.

"What is it, Orange?" He was feeling annoyed at how his grumpy crewmate had ended up disturbing his beauty sleepy. Orange ignored the edge in his voice.

"You should stay away from Red. That man... his actions are not quite right. I have a feeling he's an imposter." He was clenching his book tightly. Black hadn't expected Red to be Orange's prime suspect. He had always thought that Red was a harmless loner who liked to not indulge in any kind of small talk. He had been intimidating at first, but Black appreciated Red's quality of keeping to himself and giving space to others. 

"And why do you think so?" Black wanted the conversation to end soon, but he was curious too. "My reasons are simple. He hangs out with Blue to fix the engines, and it seems that they are assigned with the task of fixing them. However, I checked the Engine's vitals. They aren't fixed in the way I calculated them to be. If two people worked on the Engine, it should get fixed earlier. But my scans suggested that only one person did the work. The Engines are not fixed completely. Furthermore," He opened his HoloScreen to check something. "I kept a track on the crewmates movements during the malfunctions. It's difficult to track their movements all the time, but I managed to gather some data anyway. From whatever little data I have, I have found that Red always seems to walk away from the malfunction and doesn't head towards the source to fix it, with the exception of a few times. Those few times, he actually headed towards the source. But it was only when Blue themself were heading towards the source as well. He would follow them even if they both were a considerable distance away from the source." He looked up at Black finally, his expression grim. Black felt burdened. He didn't expect to be barrelled with so much information. 

"If that's true, then Blue should be considered a suspect too. Also, just because he walked away, doesn't mean it's a concrete proof of him being a suspect." Upon hearing his words, Orange's grip on his book tightened, as if he was trying to reign in his frustration.

"We can't depend on concrete proof entirely in such a situation, Black. All we can trust is eye witnesses. I trust you because you seem to be the only guy who has a good head on his shoulders." He let out a sharp exhale of breath, keeping his book away. "Also, Blue can't be a suspect. I am sure of it. On the contrary, they are the one who are facing a danger." He said, with an air of determination.

"And why's that?" He knew he was just asking questions and not exchanging any information himself, but he had too many questions in his mind. He wanted answers, and it seemed that, Orange held the key for most of them. "Blue...is someone whom Lime knew. Lime was the sole child of the President of Lunar Colony herself. Meanwhile Blue... they are also the sole child of the Chief Minister of Martian Transportation and Trade. It's not a high post if you compare it to the Lunarian President itself, but it's still something which carries weight. I am not supposed to leak this information to anyone, but I am desperate at this point. I am sure no one cares about the protocol and rules anymore."

Black remembered that the crew and the general audience was just told the names of the members who were going to lead the mission. They weren't told about each other's backgrounds. Children of most of the high-ranking government officials lived sheltered lives, staying away from the public eye. This was the reason why most of the crew had failed to recognize who Lime was. But something puzzled Black.

"Then how do you know both of them? You are connected with them in some way, aren't you?" Black pointed out, and Orange averted his gaze. "I am. I was supposed to protect Lime. But I failed." It was an ambiguous answer. Maybe Orange was playing mind games on him. He wished Orange had never told him any of the things he had said. It was too much to process. However, they were suddenly interrupted by the beeping of their Holoscreens. Black looked at Orange, feeling terrified. He knew what this noise meant. However, he opened his HoloScreen anyway. It was a call from Brown.

"Brown reporting. I...." Their voice was devoid of any emotion, and they were having some difficulty to speak. "I have found a body. It was concealed thanks to the huge chair in Weapons. It's Cyan." No one spoke to one another. The shock was too great.

"Let's gather at the Cafeteria." They said, and hung up the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for a late update. I have fallen sick. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new update!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates can be irregular. Also, please forgive any typos or slight plotholes since it's my first fanfic. : D Thanks for reading! ^_^


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